


Bloom

by aj_linguistik



Series: Rosebud and Related Stories [3]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Cravings, Eugeo is a real person, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Pregnancy, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Eugeo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24915481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: It's been about three years since Tsubomi entered Eugeo and Kazuto's lives, and some things are different while others are very much the same. After some time enjoying raising their little rosebud, the couple decide it's time to consider giving him a little sibling. But have they given themselves enough of a breather? They've got a wedding to attend, a grumpy cat who isn't ready for another baby, and a big life-changing decision to make on top of this. Here's hoping things go smoothly!
Relationships: Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Kirigaya Suguha | Leafa/Shinozaki Rika | Lisbeth
Series: Rosebud and Related Stories [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746733
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	1. Whataburger Tells All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Have no fear- Rosebud 2: Electric Boogaloo is here! The love and support, the laughs and the smiles I received, and the overall joy I heard from people discussing Rosebud still warms my heart so much. As my first completed multi-chapter SAO fic, it has a very special place in my heart, and I'm excited to continue it for a second part! The first thing you'll notice is the time-skip; little Rosebud can officially form words! The second thing you'll notice- yes, they're visiting...Texas. This first chapter is dedicated to my beloved, who would probably buy Whataburger shoes, and to Max, who is going to block me for doing this. Have fun, and welcome back to Rosebud hours!!!

The warm, March wind whipped through my hair as I clung tightly to Kazuto’s back. He was taking the long way home on purpose, probably grateful to be alone and away from my parents for a while. Admittedly, he was also rubbing in the fact that he could handle my dad’s bike on American soil like this. He rolled to a smooth stop at a red light. I poked up over his shoulder and took in where we were at.

“Not much further,” he told me, speaking through the mic in the helmets.

I nodded. As lovely as a motorcycle ride had been, I was ready to be back at my parents’ house. I hugged Kazuto a little tighter as he took off, weaving through the last few streets to pull up to my childhood home. He let me off by the front door while he walked the bike back into the garage. I could hear him talking to my dad about something as I walked up to the front porch.

The front door swung open to reveal my mother and a little boy in her arms. He was three years old, with messy, thick, black hair and bright green eyes. Some people might consider him to be a bit expressionless, but he had a special way of letting me know he was excited to see me at the door. His eyes would practically sparkle as a very faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. I hurried over to them and put my arms out. My mother passed him over to me and he wrapped his arms around me for a big hug.

“Hey, Rosebud,” I said. “I’m back now, it’s okay.”

He buried his face in my shirt. I laughed and rubbed his back.

“How was he?” I asked my mom.

She gave me a warm smile and reached over to ruffle his hair.

“I don’t think he was happy when you two left,” she said. “He pitched quite the fit for a bit. What were you two going out to get?”

I smiled at her.

“Kazuto really wanted to try something from Whataburger,” I said, chuckling. “He said it was pretty good, though I think he’s still of the opinion that American food isn’t as good as Japanese food.”

We walked into the main living area. Kazuto and my dad entered through the garage door. Tsubomi picked his head up out of my shoulder and gazed across the room at Kazuto. My husband broke out into a big smile and hurried over to scoop us both into a big hug. Tsubomi smiled again and turned himself enough to return his dad’s hug.

“Hey, Rosebud!” Kazuto said. “You got dad?”

Tsubomi made a funny face. He scrunched his eyebrows together and shut his eyes. He turned around and poked me in the collarbone.

“Got dad…” he mumbled.

My mom patted me on the back and went and sat down on the couch. She picked up a book to start reading it. I told her that Kazuto and I were going to get changed into some more comfortable clothing. She told us not to rush; dinner would be in about two hours. We slipped away into our room, plopped Tsubomi down on the bed, and started getting changed. When I turned back around to look for a shirt after I’d pulled my dressier one off, I noticed that Tsubomi was fast asleep on my pillow.

“Would you look at that?” I said, sighing. “You think it’s stressing him out being here?”

Kazuto hummed.

“Well, you know how he is,” he said. “He doesn’t like things being changed up on him. We’ve been here for a few weeks; I’m sure he’s eager to go back home and go back to normal.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, he’s not the only one stressed,” I said, giving him a dry laugh.

Kazuto tilted his head and gave me a curious look. He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I turned my head to meet him over my shoulder for a kiss. I rested one hand on top of his and his eyebrows shot up.

“Ahh, I see,” he said.

He gave me another kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t stress out about it,” he said. “We’ve only been trying for a couple of months. It’ll happen. He’ll be a big brother.”

After waiting a bit for Tsubomi to get older, Kazuto and I had discussed the possibility of having a second child. I said so long as I wasn’t too much older, I’d be fine with doing it. I’d gotten back into really good shape, I’d spent some time soothing the dysphoria by going back on my hormone treatments for a bit, and when we wanted to start trying again, we’d waited for my cycle to start again. The trouble now seemed to be that because we were trying, we weren’t getting results.

“You think it’s because we’re at your parents’ house?” Kazuto teased. “We can wait to try after Suguha’s wedding. Don’t want to steal attention with a bump, anyways, right?”

I gave him a pointed look.

“That’s three months away,” I said. “If we got pregnant right now, no one would know at their wedding.”

He gave me a smirk.

“The way you ate last time? They’d know,” he said, giving me another kiss, this time on the cheek. “You’d be attacking the spread and stuffing your face.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Sure,” I said. “But you might be right. As much as I love my parents, Tsubomi’s had trouble adjusting to jet lag and a new schedule. He’s not trying to stress me out, I’m just kind of stressing out for him, I suppose.”

Kazuto nodded and rubbed my back.

“Hey, for what it’s worth, it might be weird to say we got pregnant in your mom’s guest bed,” he said.

I swatted at his arm. He just started laughing.

“I’m just saying,” he said. “But hey, if we don’t get it until April, then we can have a new year’s baby!”

He seemed a bit excited for that. It would put a bit of distance between Tsubomi and his little sibling’s birth months. I wasn’t thinking too hard about it. We’d started trying in January, which would have put us having number two around the same time as Tsubomi. But we’d seen no positives by now, and it was a few days away from April. We’d be returning to Japan in two weeks.

I tried to put it out of my mind for the trip. Even now, as we all gathered for dinner together, I was so focused on not mentioning it or thinking about it. But it had been on my brain since December. I guess when one wants something, it’s difficult to think of something else. I felt something warm bump against my arm. I shook my head and glanced to my right.

“You okay?” Kazuto asked.

My parents were looking at me, too, looking a bit concerned.

“Yeah, why?” I asked.

Kazuto grimaced and looked at my mom. She frowned.

“You just look a little pale, that’s all,” she said. “Is dinner not sitting right?”

I had to think about that. We hadn’t eaten anything weird, though I had had quite a bit of fries earlier at Whataburger. I couldn’t think of why I’d be pale, though, until my stomach made a horribly loud gurgle. Tsubomi started giggling at me. I clutched my belly. Where did this sudden stomach issue come from? I excused myself from the table and speed-walked down the hall to the bathroom.

When I got back, Kazuto asked me in a whisper if I’d thrown up. I told him no, I hadn’t thrown up, I’d just used the toilet. My stomach was just making weird noises. I tried to stay up with him and Tsubomi as they watched a cartoon with my parents, but I just excused myself to go lay down. I closed myself in the bedroom and curled up in the bed. My mom ended up trailing in after me to check on me. I told her I was fine, I just felt sick to my stomach and tired. I dozed off without a second thought.

By the time my eyes opened again, it was completely dark and Kazuto was sprawled out across the bed, snoring so loudly I wondered how I’d been asleep. I picked up my phone and glanced at the time on the clock. It was about two in the morning. I sighed. My stomach growled, upset that it was empty. I told myself I should get up and get something to eat.

“But what on Earth do I want at this hour?” I grumbled.

I wandered into the kitchen and glanced around the cabinets, pantry, and fridge. There was plenty to eat, but for some reason my stomach only felt worse with each option I picked up. I sighed and cast a glance at the trash can, wondered if I would end up puking after all. The remnants of our lunch order caught my eye. I mumbled a quiet apology to my family, slipped on some shoes, snatched up my wallet and my mom’s car keys, and then drove out back to the Whataburger.

My brain had instantly locked down lemon pie and a cinnamon roll. I guess my brain knew it was morning and considered a more breakfast-like item—though I suppose none of that mattered. I parked the car and decided to go in, fairly certain I’d rather just calmly eat in here without disturbance than go back home and risk waking someone up. I told myself I’d go in, grab one of each, eat it, and then head out. But as soon as the smell of a childhood favorite hit my nose when I opened the store doors, my stomach jumped ahead of my brain.

The growl was probably so loud the few workers hovering around the front likely heard it. I glanced over at a cashier and a fry cook who were talking quietly. One looked at me and giggled. Yeah, they definitely heard that. I ambled over to the menu and let my stomach do the ordering. That probably wasn’t the best idea when I was trying to stay healthy, but a lemon pie and a cinnamon roll just weren’t going to cut it. I rambled off a ridiculous list to the cashier while she kept giggling, and then waited for my order patiently (and with a very embarrassingly noisy gut).

It wasn’t too long before I was tucking into my meal, completely oblivious to the hour and exactly how much I was eating. It was only when I picked up my phone and saw I had three missed called that I checked the time. It was close to four in the morning. I groaned and picked up the phone to return Kazuto’s calls when the door opened up and revealed my husband, staring across the restaurant at me with an expression that was somewhere between concerned and amused.

“Eugeo, what the _hell_?” he said.

I tiredly waved over at him. He walked over and sat down across from me, observing the pile of empty food wrappers on my tray, and then looking up to see that I was working on that cinnamon roll.

“I thought your stomach was upset,” he said.

I shrugged.

“I guess I didn’t eat enough for dinner,” I said.

Kazuto raised an eyebrow at me.

“What?” I said.

He leaned forward on the table and flicked one of the wrappers. I gave him a glare, trying to cue him in that he needed to be clear about what he was trying to say. Kazuto held up three fingers at me and smirked.

“Your stomach was bothering you earlier,” he said. “You’re eating a weird meal at almost four in the morning. And don’t think I haven’t noticed the fatigue. My gut says we swing by the CVS and grab a test.”

I almost choked on part of my cinnamon roll.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “I’m not pregnant.”

He gave me a rather incredulous look. I furrowed my brow at him, dipped the last end of my cinnamon roll into the cup on my tray, and then shoved it in my mouth. His eyes widened at me.

“Eugeo.”

“I’m not!”

“Eugeo, was that ranch dressing?”

I blinked down at the cup. Kazuto started chuckling at me.

“Okay. Fine,” I said. “We’ll get a test.”


	2. It Feels Obvious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Admittedly, this second update came too fast but when Inspiration Strikes there is nothing you can fucking do about it ahahaha. I had a scene I wanted to tackle, this first scene with the #bilingual problems. For anyone who doesn't know, I speak a few languages both fluently (English, French), very well (German), and good enough to follow a basic conversation (Spanish, Japanese), so I love love LOVE those moments where I can just confound someone by switching languages without a thought.

The woman at the counter looked extremely confused when we walked up. I suppose that was because when we weren’t talking to clerks, cashiers, or my parents, we stuck with Japanese. It probably made a lot more sense for Japanese to come out of Kazuto’s mouth than mine to her, but I wasn’t going to fault her at four-something in the morning. I set down the box for the test on the counter. She was even more confused now. She looked between the two of us. Kazuto set a package of honey buns on the counter beside it.

“How are you?” I said.

She blinked at me, jerked back into English so suddenly.

“Good, good,” she said. “You two aren’t from around here, are ya?”

Kazuto chuckled and muttered to me in Japanese that she thought I was foreign. I gave him a sharp look, letting him know he wasn’t supposed to be in Japanese mode right now. I opened my mouth to correct her, but she was already full-speed ahead with figuring we didn’t read any English.

“How good is your American?” she asked.

She picked up the pregnancy test and pointed to it.

“Sirs, this tests for baby,” she said, suddenly dumbing down her English. “Test for woman. For girl. Female.”

I frowned at her.

“I’m from Galveston,” I said, giving her a pointed glare.

Her face turned red as she realized she’d just talked down to another native speaker. Kazuto’s chuckle turned into a full laugh. I wasn’t really in the mood for this. The cashier glanced back at the pregnancy test and then looked me up and down. I cleared my throat and held up a couple of tens for her. She took the bills, choosing wisely not to say anything, and then quickly rung us up.

Kazuto had taken an Uber to come and find me, so I just drove him back to the house in my mom’s car. I thought maybe it had just been him up and looking for me, however, when we walked into the house from the garage, my mother was standing right there, arms crossed, worried expression on her face, and her foot tapping. I felt like a teenager again. Kazuto wrapped an arm around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Sorry to keep your son out so late,” he said, his joking tone in full swing. “We were just picking up some of these.”

He held up his free hand, brandishing the pregnancy test. I slammed my hand into forehead. I figure he’d meant to hold up the honey buns, because I heard my mother choke and then Kazuto choked as well. I snatched the test out of his hand and groaned.

“Nice job,” I muttered.

My mom wasn’t letting that go, though.

“Are you pregnant?” she asked.

I sighed.

“Well, obviously I don’t know,” I said, turning the box over in my hands. “It’s a possibility, so we thought it might be best to take a test.”

We were basically admitting that we’d had sex in my parents’ house. I gave Kazuto a pointed look. It was his fault for just grabbing something out of the back without looking. In a way, we’d also just admitted we were _trying_ for a baby, because there’d be no need to test if I was still regularly taking testosterone. Fortunately for us, she gave us a warm smile.

“Let me know if you need me to take you to a clinic,” she said, leaning over to kiss me goodnight again. “Keep me posted on how you’re feeling.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, of course, mom,” I said.

We split our separate ways for the night. I went to the bathroom to use the test before I went to bed. I stared down at the test, frowned, and then did my best to just crawl into the bed without rousing Kazuto, who appeared to be asleep. But he rolled over and tapped me on the shoulder, clearly awake enough to be curious.

“So?” he asked.

I rolled over into his arms and snuggled up to him.

“Nope,” I said.

He hummed.

“I don’t believe you,” he said.

I shook my head.

“It was negative, Kazuto,” I mumbled. “Go to sleep.”

In the morning, I had to discretely let my mother know that the test had come up negative. She kept looking at me like she was worried for the entire week. I suppose since she had put the pieces together that we _wanted_ to be pregnant, she felt sorry for me. But I kept insisting to her and Kazuto that I wanted to not think about it if possible. Our flight back home was in mid-April—we needed to focus on having a good time while we were still here.

Things continued on like they had, although the need to wake up at weird hours and eat wasn’t vanishing. I did my best not to leave the house—I did slip off once of twice more for Whataburger and Bucee’s. My mom caught me up snacking on some sweet pickles at two in the morning a week before our flight. She sat down and asked me if I wanted to take another test. I told her I was fine.

Two days after my birthday, though, I woke up at five in the morning and started throwing up. I felt horrible and didn’t want to wake anyone else up, but there was nothing I could do. I stayed face-down in the toilet for a good ten minutes before I felt a tug on my shirt. I lifted my head up and smiled when I saw Tsubomi looking over at me. He looked worried.

“Dad?”

I reached over and gently took his arm in my hand.

“Hey, Rosebud,” I said. “You’re up early.”

He came over close to me and forced his way into my lap. I did my best not to puke when he gave me a tight squeeze. I never imagined I’d have my arm wrapped around my son as I held him to my chest and leaned over the toilet to throw up. Life can surprise you in the strangest ways. He clutched me a little tighter when I threw up again.

“Dad, don’t be sick!” he cried.

I laughed and rubbed his back.

“I’m okay, kiddo,” I said.

The bathroom door opened wider, revealing Kazuto’s face. He gazed down at the two of us and smiled. I flashed him a tired smile as well. He came and stood over me at the sink.

“I think that test might have lied,” I said, laughing awkwardly.

Kazuto nodded, letting out a chuckle.

“Let me guess—still no period?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Nope,” I said. “And I’ll admit the past few days I’ve definitely felt the same way I did when I first thought I might be pregnant with Tsubomi.”

Hearing his name, Tsubomi crawled out from between me and the toilet. Kazuto picked him up to hold him out of my way as I got up and cleaned myself off. Tsubomi looked at me and tilted his head.

“What’s perganen?” he asked.

Kazuto snorted.

“Pregnant,” he said. “It’s when someone has a baby in their tummy. That’s where everyone comes from! I came from my mommy’s tummy. Dad came from his mommy’s tummy. And you—”

Kazuto poked Tsubomi in the belly.

“You came from dad’s tummy!” he said, pointing over at me.

Tsubomi looked over at me wide-eyed.

“I was in Dad’s tummy?” he asked.

We both nodded.

“Hey, if grandma has a picture, we’ll show you,” I said. “You wanna go ask grandma if she has a picture of you in my belly?”

I didn’t think his eyes could get any wider, but they sure did. He nodded his head up and down a bit. I made sure when we headed to breakfast that I my mom for pictures, if she had any on hand, of when I was pregnant with Tsubomi. She said she had plenty, so after a quick meal, we sat down in the living area with her and she pulled out a big photo album.

“Mom, did you print some off?” I asked, a little bewildered.

She laughed.

“Of course, I did!” she said. “Look, here’s the selfie Sulinea took of us when we got off of the plane. Look, Tsubomi! There you are!”

She pointed down at the picture, indicating my round belly. Tsubomi reached down and poked it. He was still very little, so he couldn’t even remember me being a bit heavier in the year after he was born. He looked between me and the photo, and then whipped his head up to look at Kazuto, who couldn’t help but laugh. My mom flipped the page and showed him some pictures of us going around Tokyo or playing games at home.

So many good memories were recorded here. I could ignore the fact that some of the angles made me look huge. Tsubomi laughed at a few where I was caught off-guard cramming something in my mouth. I felt myself groaning as we got to the end of the section. Alice had gotten my mom to take a picture of us when I’d hit forty weeks. I looked miserable, but she was grinning like the proudest best friend ever as she pressed a hand to my belly.

“Aunty Alice!” Tsubomi exclaimed, jabbing a finger into the picture.

Kazuto chuckled.

“Yeah, there she is,” he said. “She was very excited to meet you!”

Tsubomi smiled and nodded as if he understood.

“I was excited…excited meet Aunty Alice,” he declared.

All three of us laughed. He sounded so certain of that fact, even though he had no memory of being inside my belly. The last pictures in the set were taken by Kazuto at the hospital—a few selfies and a few shots of me in the hospital gown. I frowned and shook my head.

“God, I was huge,” I said.

My mom patted my back.

“Oh, stop,” she said. “Look at this one, though. Tsubomi, this was your first picture ever.”

The final picture was the one the nurse took for us with Kazuto’s phone. Kazuto was beaming from ear-to-ear with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. Tsubomi was in my arms, clinging to my front. I sighed and rested my hand on my belly. My mom reached over and gently rubbed my arm.

“You’ll get to have your second child,” she said. “Don’t worry. Just be patient.”

I hummed.

“About that,” I said.

My mom, Kazuto, and Tsubomi all looked up at me, waiting.

“I think…I think I should try to test again,” I said. “I know it was negative last time, but I threw up this morning and haven’t had a period between now and the last test. I just get this feeling it was a false negative.”

My eyes met Kazuto’s. He was nodding, probably agreeing with me. I don’t think the negative test had him convinced in the slightest. He’d been certain since my first weird-hour Whataburger run that I was pregnant. So, with it out in the open that even I wasn’t so sure the test was right, my mom ended up taking me to a quick clinic. I explained the situation to the nurse looking at me, mentioning the negative test, the weird eating schedule, and the sudden morning sickness.

The nurse made sure to tell me that those all could be isolated symptoms of something else. He mentioned that false negatives were really only associated with more serious medical problems or the presence of multiples. In any case, he ran the test using a blood sample and said he’d let me know in a few days with an expedited process since I was flying out of the country. Thankfully for me, my mom covered the cost (and Kazuto asked me what the hell America’s health system was smoking).

I barely got any time to enjoy myself for birthday celebrations for the next few days. I spent the majority of it running to the bathroom to throw up. Something in me started to worry that I wasn’t pregnant—I was just horribly sick for some reason. If I ate something, it was only about an hour before I threw it back up. As our flight got closer, both Kazuto and I started to dread getting on a plane. We were pretty certain I was going to be throwing up from Houston to Tokyo.

I was miserably curled up on the couch the day before our flight when there was a call sent to my parents’ landline. Kazuto came to let me know that it was the doctor on the phone discussing my results with my mother. He sat beside me and rubbed my back. I gave him a tired smile. I think we were both silently hoping for some good news. I reached out one of my hands. He took it and squeezed it.

“You think we’re gonna be dads again?” I asked.

Kazuto laughed and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

“I know my husband,” he said. “If it turns up as negative, I’m going to need some ultrasound proof.”

I squeezed his hand back. His confidence on this was adorable. I glanced away from him when I heard my mom’s slippers scuff against the living room floor. He turned to look over his shoulder at her. She came and crouched down in front of me. She brushed some stray hairs out of my face.

“My poor baby,” she said. “That was the doctor from the quick clinic on the phone.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, Kazuto told me,” I said. “Do they have a verdict?”

Kazuto chuckled at my word choice. My mom smiled at me warmly and cupped my cheek. I felt butterflies in my stomach.

“It looks like Tsubomi’s officially going to be a big brother,” she said.

Kazuto pumped a fist like an excited child.

“I knew it!” he said.

My mom and I laughed.

“I knew it! I knew it!” he cried. “When are we going to be dads again?”  
My mom shook her head. He was definitely way too eager, but that’s just one of the things I love about Kazuto. He let go of my hand and spread his hand out over my belly, grinning like a total idiot. He wasn’t even waiting for someone to answer him—he was just all over the place at the moment. In his burst of joy, he leaned over and kissed me again.

“Calm down,” I said, laughing. “The test can’t tell you that—I need to have an ultrasound for that. But I’d definitely take a guess at this being a mid-December baby.”

Sighing, my mom shook her head and chuckled.

“You two aren’t going to live down making my grandchild in my house,” she teased.

Kazuto and I locked eyes and blushed furiously.

“M-mooooom,” I whined.

In any case, we now had an appointment to book for when we got back to Japan. I pressed my hand to my belly and relaxed against the couch while my mom and Kazuto bantered back and forth with each other.

_Welcome to the family, little one._


	3. A Feeling in My Gut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This has been half-finished for like 4 days, school is clearly back in full swing. Haha. No cravings weirdo items yet, but those are shortly to come as I've been compiling a list of the suggestions. I'll accept them for as long as I can!

Trying not to look miserable, I staggered out of the bathroom to where Kazuto was waiting, leaned up against a vending machine nearby. Tsubomi saw him standing there and scurried over to him, which snapped Kazuto out of whatever daze he’d been in. He gave our son a huge grin and then scooped him up into his arms. Tsubomi’s tired-looking eyes slipped closed as he rested his head against Kazuto’s chest. Despite how awful I felt, I smiled and came over to stand beside him.

“Long plane ride, bud?” Kazuto said, chuckling.

He looked over at me and gave me a sympathetic smile.

“Same goes for you, too, huh?” he said.

I clutched my belly and just gave him a forced smile.

“There’s honestly nothing left to throw up…” I mumbled.

He nodded and reached over to rub my back. I needed food in my system, but I think we both silently agreed that I should be at home before I ate anything else. Though, even knowing that, I wound up grabbing a snack out of the vending machine that looked relatively safe to hold me over until we got home. We headed out to the baggage claim, where Kazuto insisted he handle our luggage, and then we left the terminal to go and find our ride.

Our ride, also formally known as my best friend, Alice, waved her hand and hurried over to greet us with a wide smile on her face. She saw that Kazuto was dragging all three suitcases with one hand then then lightly scolded him as she took two of them away from him. I just laughed. She whirled to face me.

“Why weren’t you helping him?” she asked.

I put up one hand in defense.

“Look, he insisted because—”

Alice cut me off.

“Oh, god, you look like crap,” she said. “Did you eat something funny?”

I shook my head.

“No, just a bit airsick,” I lied.

I apologized to her quickly in my head. Last time around, Alice had been the first to know I was pregnant, and while Kazuto knew that and said he wasn’t mad about that, I still felt a bit bad for telling her first. This time, we were going to enjoy it just being knowledge between us and our parents for the time being. Besides, I wasn’t even showing yet at this early on. Kazuto just chuckled and rubbed my back.

“I bet it’s all that greasy American fast food you aren’t used to eating anymore,” he teased.

Frowning, I shot him a look. He was lucky that Alice set down the luggage for a moment to give me a hug. I hugged her back, careful not to drop my snack, and then meekly offered to pick up at least Tsubomi’s luggage. She now, like Kazuto, aptly refused and turned around to cart off mine and Tsubomi’s suitcases as she directed us to the car. When we got out to the car, a surprise greeter hopped out to help us load up the trunk.

“Asuna!” Kazuto exclaimed.

He hurried over to give her a big hug.

“Oi, Kazuto,” Alice said, laughing as she watched him drop the suitcase to bring Asuna into a hug while still holding Tsubomi. “You’re being so embarrassing right now. Behave yourself!”

He grinned over his shoulder at Alice.

“But it’s been MONTHS since I’ve seen my best friend!” he protested. “And YOU got to hug Eugeo inside!”

Alice rolled her eyes but didn’t protest. With Asuna in shotgun, Tsubomi and I were seated on either side of Kazuto in the back seat. Our son only woke for a short moment, blinked sleepily at the two women waving at him, and then flopped over onto Kazuto and started snoring again. I reached across him to adjust the seatbelt so that he wouldn’t hurt his neck on it. Alice had the belt covers in her car, so all I had to do was slide it down. I sat back up and took a deep breath.

“Feeling okay?” Kazuto whispered.

I nodded, but after a minute or so of driving, I groaned, clutched my belly, and then stuck my head down between my knees. Kazuto gently pulled me into his lap and started rubbing my back. I wanted to cry. I had gotten pretty morning sick with Tsubomi, but this was just unbearable. The car felt like it was spinning. Alice said if I had to throw up, she’d pull over; Kazuto insisted I’d be fine so long as we didn’t hit major traffic.

The car ride felt much longer than it was. I thought we would never reach the house in time. As soon as we pulled up, I apologized as I stumbled out of the car, house key in hand, and dashed to get to the bathroom before the snack I’d eaten escaped my stomach. I was surprised I had that much energy when I was throwing up so much of what I ate. Urgency truly does things to a man. By the time I was cleaned up, my luggage was already in our room and Alice and Asuna were hugging Kazuto again, telling him they’d visit again when I wasn’t throwing up. I gave them a wave, not wanting to get squeezed, and then watched as they left.

“Why don’t you go lay down?” Kazuto suggested.

I gave him a dry laugh.

“There’s nothing else I can throw up,” I said, sounding a bit meek.

The look on his face told me he didn’t seem convinced. I watched Alice pull out of the driveway and then formally donned my slippers and stepped out of the doorway. After taking a few steps into the house, I felt Kazuto’s arms wrap around me from behind. He pressed one hand to my belly and wrapped the other around my arms. His lips came to rest on my left cheek. I felt myself starting to grin. I rested my hands on top of his on my belly and hummed.

“We’re pregnant,” he said.

I could hear the giddiness in his voice. We’d both admittedly been toning down our excitement ever since the test had finally turned up positive. I turned around in his arms and wrapped my arms around him to return his embrace. Our lips slipped together smoothly. He rubbed my back and firmly grasped my ass as he leaned into the kiss. When our lips parted, we touched our foreheads together. I reached up and cupped his face in my hand.

“That’s right,” I said. “We’re dads again.”

Kazuto pulled his hand back around to my front and started to trace circles on my belly.

“You’re certain you’re ready for number two?” he asked.

I nodded and kissed him again.

“But the cap is two, okay?” I told him, laughing.

He grinned facetiously at me.

“Oh?” he said. “Is that a cap on how many overall or how many you’re personally agreeing to pop out?”

I playfully reached down and squeezed his ass.

“We’ll discuss that in more detail if we really feel the need for a third child,” I said, giving him a teasing, but firm, tone. “For now, let’s focus on learning how to juggle two.”

He nodded at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Either way, I’m excited to start this next quest with you, Eugeo,” he said.

I smiled and rested my forehead back against his.

“Me, too,” I said.


	4. Some Shocking News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry updates are taking so long right now. I am practically swamped with schoolwork and application stuff and doctor's appointments. I hope the last bit won't increase dramatically but considering I may need serious medical attention WHO KNOWS ahahahahhaha. *sobs into pillow quietly* Have some Eugeo while I sort out my problems. May he bring you joy.

Wedding preparations had been going smoothly for Rika and Suguha’s big day, but I found myself running into a weird problem as the wedding practice got rolling. Kazuto and I had talked about the fact that I was pregnant and that it might be obvious at the wedding, before we’d told anyone. I’d reassured him that I wouldn’t be showing and that I could write off hunger as some other reason. But as we sat in the dressing room during the rehearsal, I sank down into a chair as I realized the truth: I was definitely showing.

“Maybe we can loosen the buttons a little and the suit won’t obviously press up against your bump,” Kazuto said, kneeling down to mess with Tsubomi’s shirt.

I sighed and shook my head.

“I just don’t get it,” I whined. “I’m not _that_ pregnant. I shouldn’t be this obvious at fifteen weeks. I wasn’t with Tsubomi.”

He just chuckled at me.

“Your doctor did say every pregnancy is different,” he said. “Maybe number two is just a chunky baby.”

His fingers deftly buttoned up the little suit and grinned at Tsubomi.

“Lookin’ sharp, Rosebud!” he said.

Tsubomi nodded his head and then stuck his arms up at Kazuto. Laughing, Kazuto scooped him up and then came to sit down next to me. Tsubomi settled down into his lap and stared over at me. Even though we’d shown him pictures from when I was pregnant with him, he seemed to be very awkward about approaching me while he processed that my belly was growing. Kazuto leaned over and put his hand on my belly. He chuckled again.

“Say, you don’t suppose…?” he said trailing off.

I frowned at him.

“Suppose what?” I asked.

Kazuto gently rubbed my stomach for a moment until Tsubomi finally reached out and put his hand next to Kazuto’s on my belly. He then looked up at me and raised his eyebrows.

“Well, the doctor did say that false negatives either meant something was wrong or indicated multiples…” he said.

I felt my stomach drop. I placed my hand under my belly and let out an involuntary groan. If there was more than one baby in here, we’d be in for quite a few hectic years. Not only that, but the physical toll of carrying more than one baby would create a deadly combo when paired with my dysphoria. There was nothing I could do about that, though. What was done was done; if I was a father of three or more now, there was no going back. I forced a smile and stared down at Tsubomi as he awkwardly patted my belly.

“You ready to go rehearse with Aunty Sugu?” I asked.

Tsubomi looked up at me and gave me a quick nod. I laughed and scooped him up out of Kazuto’s arms to cradle him for a moment. I could feel him getting a little less anxious while I held him. Kazuto smiled and reached over to fix his hair. Tsubomi snuggled up to me, wrapping his arm around me just over my bump. I gently rubbed his back. He was pretty shy, so I hoped that the wedding tomorrow wouldn’t freak him out too much.

Suguha and Rika arrived at the room after a while, greeting us since they’d not seen us slip in. We’d run a little late because of my uneasy stomach. Suguha wrapped her arms around her brother, who squeezed her tightly and teased her a bit. He then released her to jump up and hug Rika. Suguha turned to me and saw Tsubomi clinging to me. She smiled, and then made a funny face as she looked at me.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Yeah, sorry about running late,” I said. “Had a bit of an uneasy stomach issue.”

I was vague enough that I hoped she presumed it was Tsubomi and not me.

“Oh,” she said, straightening up. “I was just worried about your weight. Or is it just the way you’re sitting?”

She was being a little too blunt for my tastes, so I just awkwardly chuckled.

“Oh, I’m fine,” I said. “Perhaps got knocked off of my rhythm while I was in the States. My parents aren’t exactly health-conscious people.”

She gave me another funny look, but she didn’t ask any further questions. Rika waved for us to come into the main space to practice the wedding. Tsubomi listened very intently as they told him what to do. Our original plan had been for him to be the ringbearer. That was botched as soon as we realized he didn’t understand how to keep the pillow steady while he walked. Since we were already a group of particularly carefree people when it came to traditional roles and such, Suguha suggested that he be the flower boy instead. From what I could tell as we watched, he was enjoying that a lot more than he would have enjoyed trying not to drop the wedding bands. We gave him high-fives when the rehearsal was over to let him know he’d done a good job.

After that was done, Suguha and Rika treated us all to a wonderful spread of refreshments. I was particularly excited about this part of the day. My stomach was already starting to feel like a bottomless pit again. I loaded up a plate with food and sat down with Tsubomi and Alice as we watched Kazuto mess with Suguha and Rika from afar. I chuckled and shoved a bit of bread into my mouth while I leaned over to help Tsubomi with a spoonful of rice that was about to spill all over his front.

“He’s adorable,” Alice said, giggling.

I laughed.

“I think he’s enjoying the flower-tossing,” I said. “Are you having fun throwing flowers for your aunties, Rosebud?”

He hummed and nodded enthusiastically. Alice and I both laughed.

“Hey, Eugeo, can I admit something?” she suddenly said.

I glanced around the room, wondering why she’d chosen now of all times to do the “best friend confession hour.” I supposed it was because everyone else was so focused on the brides-to-be, and I was over here taking care of the three-year-old (as well as feeding the second child no one else knew about). Frowning, I figured she wouldn’t take no for an answer and I nodded my head.

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “What’s up?”

She sighed.

“I met someone really nice,” she said. “I met him a while ago, before you were over in Texas. We’ve been dating for a while, and I’m very happy.”

I smiled. That wasn’t as grave as I’d expected it to be.

“I’m happy for you!” I said.

She laughed and nodded.

“That’s not quite the admission,” she said.

I frowned and waited for her, taking a bite of my food.

“We slipped up,” she said quietly.

I stopped chewing and almost choked. Was she implying what I thought she was? I covered my mouth from one side and mouthed out my guess to her. It was the only way to make sure Tsubomi didn’t hear it and blurt it out.

“Are you…pregnant?” I asked.

She bit her lip and nodded slightly.

“D-Does your boyfriend know?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“Should I tell him?” she asked. “We haven’t been together all that long…what if he leaves me? I don’t want him to tell me to abort, but I also don’t want to lose him.”

I reached over and put my hand on her arm.

“Hey, first of all, if he tells you what to do with your body, you’re going to have to keep me from finding him and taking a swing,” I said.

Alice laughed, even though her voice betrayed that she was a little upset.

“Second of all, if he’s as good as you say he is, then he’ll be supportive of you and work it out with you,” I continued. “Just be honest with him, tell him how you feel about keeping the baby, and if he reacts poorly, Kazuto and I are here to help you out with whatever you need, okay?”

Her cheeks flushed a little red.

“A-are you going to tell him?” she stammered.

I chuckled.

“You can handle that one,” I said.

I finally got a genuine smile out of her. She reached over Tsubomi and hugged me. When she sat back, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I looked down at Tsubomi to see him awkwardly trying to hold his chopsticks. I reached around him and adjusted the little holders on them so he didn’t drop one. He kept eating and shoved some noodles in his mouth quite messily.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, how far along are you?” I asked.

Alice’s cheeks burned a little red.

“Almost twenty weeks,” she said quietly.

I almost choked on the bread I was stuffing in my mouth. She was further along than I was, and yet I couldn’t see a baby bump anywhere on her figure. I felt a bit of jealousy prickle in my chest. At fifteen weeks, I looked a bit fat. I stared down at her belly for a moment, grumbled into my bread, and shoved the rest of it into my mouth as she started giggling.

“I know, at twenty weeks you already had a bump with Tsubomi,” she said. “My doctor said the baby’s doing well, though. Speaking of doctors, are you feeling okay? You’ve gained a bit of weight.”

I sighed.

“Kazuto swears it was the American food,” I said.

Alice shook her head.

“Miss Whataburger too much?” she teased, poking me in the belly. “Gosh, you really did get tubby!”

Frowning, I reached down and rubbed the spot she’d poked.

“Be nice,” I said.

The chairs across from us scraped against the ground. Kazuto and Suguha were sitting down at the table with us. Alice and I greeted them and asked what they had been talking about. Suguha was saying that she had a bit of wedding jitters and wanted the whole thing to run smoothly tomorrow. We reassured her that everything would be fine, and within forty-eight hours she’d be off on her honeymoon with Rika.

“And when you’re done having your love-love fest, we’ll pick you up from the airport, like good brothers!” Kazuto said, grinning.

Suguha rolled her eyes. She had no idea that that was when we’d planned to tell them that they were getting another nephew or niece. Of course, at this rate, by then it would be painfully obvious that I wasn’t just putting on weight. Then again, I had to make sure I wasn’t giving myself away, either. Which was hard to do as I dipped watermelon in mayonnaise and ate it.

“Ah, god, Eugeo!” Kazuto yelped. “Why are you doing that?”

I shrugged.

“Tastes pretty good,” I said. “You want to try a piece?”

Kazuto shook his head.

“No, no I do not want to try a piece!” he cried.

Suguha and Alice both gave me a suspicious look.

“Hold up,” Suguha said. “I thought you just said you put on some weight.”

I nodded.

“I speak the truth,” I said. “I saw Tsubomi do it by accident and wondered if it might taste good since he refused to eat the piece after it got mayo on it. Turns out it’s pretty good.”

The stares I received from my sister-in-law and best friend were unconvinced. I couldn’t do much other than just continue playing dumb. After we got on the road to go home, Kazuto sighed, shook his head, and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

“Really?” he said, laughing. “You pinned that on the innocent child you brought into this world?”

I grinned at him.

“It wasn’t a lie,” I said. “He got some mayo on his piece of watermelon.”

Kazuto rolled his eyes and then kissed me on the lips when we stopped at a light. He reached over and rubbed my belly.

“Ask dad for _good_ food, you hear?” he said.

I just laughed while he straightened up as a car horn blared behind us. I rested my hands on my belly and sat back into the seat. The whole time we rode, all I could think about was the future playdates the baby in my belly would have with Alice’s child. My heart was a mixture of warmth and anticipation.

And of course, I couldn’t wait to meet her boyfriend, either.


End file.
